Multi- Pieced Bedding Cover

ABSTRACT

A modified bedding cover having at least two portions that are releasably attached. One portion is a fabric shell with at least two layers of fabric and a cutout at or near the center of one of the fabric layers. The other portion is a releasable cover sheet that can be releasably attached over the envelope portion to cover the envelope hole. 
     A method of simplifying the laundering of bedding by using a multi-pieced bed cover system that are releasably attached to each other and allows for disassembly for ease of laundering.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/148,559 filed on Apr. 16, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multi-pieced bedding cover and a method for operating a multi-pieced bedding cover.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Popular bedding options such as comforters and duvets typically have a removable cover and an inner part. In turn, the traditional bedding covers are typically composed of two layers of fabric enclosing an inner bed filling that is either a comforter, duvet, or blanket of some material. The two outer layers protect the inner bedding from becoming dirty while the cover can be removed for laundering.

However, the traditional bedding cover is difficult to put back onto the inner portion after laundering. This is due to the traditional covers resembling an envelope with an opening slit at one end of the bedding cover. This configuration requires careful alignment of the four corners of the cover with the corners of the inner portion and hence typically requires two persons to put the cover back onto the inner portion.

The U.S. Hollander patent Ser. No. 10/217,844 ('844 patent) describes a two-piece duvet coverlet featuring a removable sheet that may be laundered and a second envelope-like piece with a side opening for the duvet insertion. This approach was thought to simplify the laundering requirements by only removing the sheet for laundering.

The U.S. Tepper patent Ser. No. 12/201,592 ('592 patent) describes a two-piece duvet coverlet formed from two sheets held together by press studs around the perimeter of the sides. This approach was thought to solve the problem of minimizing laundering requirements by unsnapping the press studs in order to release the inner duvet and laundering only the outer sheets.

The current invention solves the difficulty of putting (insert preposition, e.g. “on”) a bedding cover with just one person. The preferred embodiment is allows for ease in both removing and putting on the bedding cover by making a few improvements upon the traditional bedding covers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first objective of the present invention is to simplify the bedding laundering process by removing the need for two persons to remove or reinsert the bedding into the bedding cover. The second objective of the present invention is to allow for simplifying the bedding laundering process by allowing for the flexibility of laundering only one piece of the two-piece cover at a time and hence reducing the tangling of the cover with other laundry items. The third objective of the present invention is to allow the user more flexibility in the aesthetics of the bedding with interchangeability of the combinations in designs of Portions A and B.

The preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a portion A and a portion B where portion B is comprised of at least two layers of fabric forming an enclosure over the inner bed filling. Portion A is comprised of at least one layer of fabric. The four corners of portion A are substantially aligned with the four corners of portion B. While the preferred embodiment has portion A as configured as the top portion, the preferred variant can include configurations with portion A as the bottom portion. Portions A and B can also have additional layers of fabric in the preferred variant. The fabric can additionally be hypoallergenic, odor-proof, or wrinkle-proof in the preferred variant.

In the preferred embodiment, the portion A and the portion B are attached to each other with at least one pair of complementary removable fasteners. Examples of such fasteners include but are not limited to: press studs, buttons, VELCRO, zippers, snaps, cloth ties. The portion B has a hole at or near the center that allows the inner bed filling to be taken out of the portion B in order to launder the portion B and the portion A independently of the inner bed filling. The hole can be of any shape, including polygonal or circular, in the preferred variant. The inner bed filling can be a comforter, duvet, blanket or the like made of a variety of materials including but not limited to: cotton, down, or wool. Preferred variants can have more pairs of complementary fasteners placed around the perimeter of both portions A and B.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method of minimizing the efforts in removing and put back on the bedding cover by providing the steps of removably fastening a top portion to a bottom portion, wherein the bottom portion has a hole at or near the center and is double-layered to enclose the inner bed filling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments of the invention and its advantages are explained in greater detail below with the aid of the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is the top surface view of the portion B.

FIG. 2 is the bottom surface view of the portion A.

FIG. 3 illustrates the insertion of the Inner Bed Filling into the portion B.

FIG. 4 illustrates the top surface view of the portion B after the insertion of the Inner Bed Filling into the preferred embodiment of the portion B.

FIG. 5 illustrates the releasable attachment of the portion A to the portion B.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the portion A releasably attached to the portion B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The illustrations are attached to the back of this application.

-   10—Portion B -   12—Outer rim of the portion B -   14—A piece of fabric onto which part A of the releasable attachment     pieces are located. -   16—One of the four pockets on the portion B into which a corner of     the Inner Bed Filling are inserted. -   17—A perimeter edge of the Cutout on the top side of the portion B     that allows for the insertion of the Inner Bed Filling. -   18—The top side of the portion B. -   20—Part A of the releasable attachment pieces. -   22—portion A. -   24—Outer rim of the portion A. -   26—A piece of fabric onto which the part B of the releasable     attachment pieces are located. -   28—The under side of the portion A. -   30—Part B of the releasable attachment pieces.

As illustrated, the invention consist of at least two portions: a portion A (22) and a portion B (10). Portion B forms a fabric shell that encloses the Inner Bed Filling (not shown). As seen in FIG. 6, the portion A (22) and portion B (10) are releasably attached to each other. The releasable attachment pieces are complementary to each other and are designated as pieces A (20) and B (30). As seen in FIG. 5, the releasable attachment pieces on the portion A (22) and portion B (10) are matched with each other A (20) to B (30) in the fully assembled invention. In the preferred variant, the surface area and shape of the Portion A (22) and Portion B (10) are substantially similar and substantially atop each other.

As seen in FIG. 1, releasable attachment piece A (20) is located on a slip of fabric (14) located around the outer rim of Portion B (12) and is found on the top side of the portion B (18). As seen in FIG. 2, Piece B (30) is located on a piece of fabric (26) located on around the outer rim of the portion A (24) and found on the underside of Portion B (18).

As seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the Inner Bed Filling is insertable into Portion B (10) by inserting each corner of the Inner Bed Filling into one pocket of the Portion B (16). The pocket (16) is in turn defined by a perimeter edge of the cutout near the center (17) and the outer rim of Portion B (12).

This construction allows for the Inner Bed Filling to be removed and reinserted into the invention. The Inner Bed Filling is protected from soiling, while Portion A (22) or Portion B (10) can be removed for laundering.

The invention can be any desired size, shape and composed of a wide variety of materials such as cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, or a combination of such. The Inner Bed Filling can be any typical bedding, including a duvet, blanket, quilt, or comforter. The Inner Bed Filling can be filled with down, cotton, synthetics, or any other suitable filler material. The releasable attachment pieces may be buttons and buttonholes, press studs, snaps, ties, VELCRO, zippers, and any other suitable materials. Finally, the location of the cutout can be moved around Portion B as long as the invention still facilitates the removal and insertion of the Inner Bed Filling.

The invention's configuration can be flipped upside down, where the Top Portion is on the bottom and hence become the portion that is closest to the human body for sleeping. This allows for the Top Portion to protect the entire duvet, comforter, or the like and be the only portion laundered.

In an exemplary embodiment, Portion A and Portion B are releasably attached to each other using a system of buttons and buttonholes.

In an exemplary embodiment, Portion A and Portion B are releasably attached to each other using VELCRO fasteners.

In an exemplary embodiment, there is at least one additional fabric portion in addition to Portions A and B. The additional portion can be decorative.

In an exemplary embodiment, Portion A is comprised of at least two layers of fabric. The additional layer may be removable for easier cleaning or may be decorative.

In an exemplary embodiment, the cutout in Portion B is polygon-shaped.

In an exemplary embodiment, both Portions A and B are substantially rectangularly shaped.

In an exemplary embodiment, Portions A and B can be made from hypoallergenic materials.

In an exemplary embodiment, the Inner Bed Filling can be a duvet, blanket, or comforter. Additionally, the size of Portions A and B can be scaled to fit different sizes of Inner Bed Fillings such as Twin, Full, Queen, and King. 

1. A bed covering comprising: a Portion A and a Portion B; the Portion A comprised of at least one layer of fabric; the Portion B comprised of at least two layers of fabric forming a fabric shell with a cutout near the center of the upper layer where the cutout is hidden from view when Portions A and B are attached; and at least one fastener for attaching Portion B to Portion A.
 2. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein said Portion A and said Portion B are releasably attached to each other.
 3. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein both the Portion A and Portion B are attached by releasable attachment pieces.
 4. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein said Portion A and said Portion B are attached to each other using a system of buttons and buttonholes.
 5. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein said Portion A and said Portion B are attached to each other using VELCRO fasteners.
 6. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein said Portion A and said Portion B are attached to each other using snap fasteners.
 7. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein there is at least one additional portion.
 8. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein said Portion A and said Portion B have substantially equal surface areas.
 9. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein Portion A is comprised of at least two layers of fabric.
 10. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein the cutout in Portion B is polygon-shaped.
 11. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein both Portion A and Portion B are substantially rectangularly shaped.
 12. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein both the Portion A and Portion B are made from hypoallergenic materials.
 13. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein the inner bed filling is a duvet, blanket, or comforter.
 14. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein the sizes of Portions A and B are scaled to fit Inner Bed Fillings of Twin, Full, Queen or King sizes.
 15. The bed covering of claim 1, wherein Portion A and B are interchangeable and in a variety of decorative fabrics to alter the overall appearance of the bedding cover system.
 16. The bed covering of claim 3, wherein there are at least one additional portion in addition to Portions A and B.
 17. A method of simplifying laundering of bedding by using a bed cover system that comprises of a Portion A and a Portion B that are releasably attached to each other, wherein the inner bed filling is inserted the lower cover portion by a cutout at or near the center of Portion B. 